Contents

Summary

Seeking retribution after The Miz & Maryse assaulted them last week, Daniel Bryan & Brie Bella hit the scene on SmackDown LIVE to address their WWE Hell in a Cell pay-per-view event opponents, but even though Miz & Maryse challenged them earlier in the day when the arena was empty, The A-List couple were apparently not in the building now.

Before Bryan & Bella could react, they were interrupted by the tandem that assisted The “It” Couple in their attack last week, Andrade “Cien” Almas & Zelina Vega. Vega poked at the two of them for “crying” and talked about how they thoroughly enjoyed beating them down last week before adding that Almas would like to do it again... right now.

Immediately after Bryan accepted Almas’ challenge, the two aggressive technicians enthralled the WWE Universe with a supremely athletic contest that saw both Superstars go all out with a mix of high-risk and high-impact maneuvers. After a grueling battle, Bryan claimed victory by hitting an unbelievable Running Knee that sent Almas into a backflip and kept him down for three.

In a measure of retaliation from last week, Brie dropped Vega and blasted her with a running knee of her own to Zelina's dome piece. The couple couldn't celebrate for long, however, as The Miz & Maryse appeared on the TitanTron and revealed that they were dining in one of the finest Italian restaurants in Detroit. The Awesome One and Maryse indicated that they had left the arena and that Bryan and his bride would now have to wait until their clash at the WWE Hell in a Cell pay-per-view event to see them in the flesh.

After falling to both members of The IIconics in consecutive weeks, Naomi looked to right the ship in a rematch against Peyton Royce tonight on SmackDown LIVE.

As the past two weeks have proven, The Glow had to keep eyes consistently in the back of her head for the other IIconic lurking at ringside. In the height of the action, Naomi neutralized Billie Kay at ringside and immediately caught Royce off-guard with a rollup for the quick win.

The Glow was soon dimmed, however, when Kay entered the ring, and The IIconics began a savage double-team beatdown on Naomi. After landing a few cheap shots, Kay and Royce were interrupted by Asuka, who darted to the ring and took out The IIconics with a series of blistering strikes, letting them know that Naomi seemingly wouldn't be going it alone against them from here on out.

With Samoa Joe having promised to make a stop at AJ Styles’ household last week, the WWE Universe was seemingly a bit surprised when The Samoan Submission Machine appeared in person on SmackDown LIVE.

Joe claimed that his threat to show up at the Styles’ household was simply to scare AJ and his family, but he added that the real scare would be when Joe took the WWE Championship from Styles at the WWE Hell in a Cell pay-per-view event.

However, as Joe began to wrap up his chilling proclamation, he was met with the shocking arrival of Styles on the TitanTron after Joe had assumed he was at home protecting his family for a possible visit by The Samoan Submission Machine. With weeks of aggression built up, The Phenomenal One made his way onto the stage, dashed at Joe and got the better of his nemesis by wiping him out with a Phenomenal Forearm off the steel steps. AJ followed up with an assault that saw him wildly swing a steel chair at The Samoan Submission Machine, then take him down again with a jaw-dropping dive over the top rope to the outside. The Phenomenal One looked ready to continue the brutalization, but a barrage of officials and SmackDown LIVE General Manager Paige rushed down to separate Styles from his rival.

With the chance to face The Bar in the match that will determine who will challenge The New Day for the SmackDown Tag Team Championship, Rusev Day, The Usos and SAnitY squared off on the blue brand.

There was no shortage of action, as all three teams fought vigorously for the opportunity to get one step closer to The New Day and the titles. All three teams looked impressive, but Rusev & Aiden English showed they were finally be back on the same page in the closing moments. Eric Young illegally placed his feet on the ropes while attempting to pin Rusev, but English broke up the fall from the outside of the ring, and The Super Athlete blasted the SAnitY leader with a Machka Kick for the 1-2-3.

Afterward, The Bar arrived on the stage, seemingly laughing at their newfound opponents just one week before throwing down with them in a match that will determine the next challengers for The New Day!

R-Truth was accompanied to the ring by the unlikely companion of his newly announced Mixed Match Challenge partner Carmella as he squared off against The Miz, who had his bride Maryse, or “other Carmella” (as Truth was referring to her) in the main event of SmackDown LIVE.

The series of events that led to this bizarre battle included Miz & Maryse returning to the arena after their Italian restaurant date from earlier (also because they thought that Daniel Bryan & Brie Bella had left) and Truth confusing, as her new name suggests, Maryse for Carmella. But now, the former Awesome Truth partners would battle with the lights on bright to close the show out on the blue brand.

Miz and Truth slugged it out, but The A-Lister got a shocking plot twist when Bryan & Bella returned. The mere presence of The “Yes!” Man and Brie Mode allowed R-Truth to catch The A-Lister off-guard with a slick roll-up for three. Bryan and Bella then started teeing off on Miz & Maryse, and Bryan trapped The Awesome One in the “Yes!” Lock. Andrade “Cien” Almas and Zelina Vega arrived looking for payback against Daniel and Brie for The Beard's win over “Cien” earlier in the night. However, the tides would quickly turn on El Idolo and his business manager, as Bryan and his bride took them down and applied "Yes!" Locks, as Miz & Maryse watched in utter shock from the ramp.